Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969) is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of his former ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley. He is currently signed with WWE for Extreme (WWE), but is inactive due to an injury. He is signed on the RAW brand. He also holds an executive position in the company, working as the senior adviser to Vince McMahon.

Before joining WWE, Levesque began his wrestling career with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1993, wrestling under the ring name Terra Ryzing and later as Jean-Paul Lévesque. He later changed his name to Triple H and adopted an alternative image in the stable D-Generation X (DX). After the dissolution of DX, Triple H was pushed as a main event wrestler, winning several singles championships. As part of a storyline, Triple H married Stephanie McMahon, who later became his real-life spouse. In 2003, Triple H formed another stable known as Evolution, and in 2006, briefly reformed DX with Shawn Michaels and later Evolution with Ric Flair.

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Levesque was born in Nashua, New Hampshire. In his youth, he was a fan of professional wrestling and his favorite wrestler was Ric Flair. Levesque became aware of bodybuilding at the age of fourteen; after graduating from high school in 1987, Levesque entered several bodybuilding competitions. He was crowned Teenage Mr. New Hampshire at the age of nineteen. During this time, he met Ted Arcidi and began to consider a career in professional wrestling.

Levesque enrolled at Killer Kowalski's wrestling school in 1992 after it was recommended to him by Arcidi. He made his in-ring debut on November 1 of the same year wrestling against Flying Tony Roy. Levesque joined the Independent Wrestling Federation (IWF), which used trainees from Kowalski's school in their promotion. Here, he became the IWF Heavyweight Champion and started using the name Terra Ryzing.

In early 1994, Levesque signed a one year contract with World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In his first televised match, He wrestled as a villain and defeated Brian Armstrong. He continued using the name Terra Ryzing until mid-1994, when he was renamed Jean-Paul Lévesque. This gimmick referred to his surname's French origins and he was asked to speak with a French accent, as he could not speak French. During this time, he began using his finishing maneveur, the Pedigree.

Levesque had a brief storyline feud with Alex Wright that ended at Starrcade 1994 with Wright pinning him. Between late 1994 and early 1995, Levesque briefly teamed with Lord Steven Regal, whose snobby British persona was a good match with his similar persona. The team was short-lived, however, as Lévesque left for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in January 1995 after WCW turned down his request to be pushed as a singles competitor.

As a continuation of his gimmick in WCW, Levesque started his WWF career as the "Connecticut Blueblood" Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Levesque appeared in taped vignettes, in which he talked about how to use proper etiquette, up until his wrestling debut on the April 30, 1995 episode of WWF Wrestling Challenge.

Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 1996.

Although he was heavily pushed in the first few months after his debut, Levesque's career stalled during 1996, starting off with being mired in a feud with Duke "The Dumpster" Droese following a loss in the Free For All at the 1996 Royal Rumble. Up until that event, his angle included appearing on television each week with a different female valet (which included Playboy Playmates Shae Marks and Tylyn John]. Sable was his valet at WrestleMania XII, and after his loss to The Ultimate Warrior, as part of the storyline, he took his aggressions out on her. The debuting Marc Mero—her real-life husband—came to her rescue, starting a feud between the two wrestlers.

On May 28, 1996, Helmsley appeared on WWF Superstars against Marty Garner. When Levesque attempted to perform the Pedigree, Garner mistook the maneuver for a double underhook suplex and tried to jump up with the move, causing him to land squarely on top of his head and suffer neck damage. Garner sued the WWF, eventually settling out of court and later discussed the incident in an appearance on The Montel Williams Show.

The MSG Incident.

Levesque was known backstage as one of the members of The Kliq, a group of wrestlers including Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman and Scott Hall, who were known for influencing Vince McMahon and the WWF creative team. He was scheduled to win the 1996 King of the Ring tournament, but was demoted from championship contender to "jobber to the stars" after the Madison Square Garden Incident, in which the Kliq broke character after a match to say goodbye to the departing Nash and Hall. Despite the punishment, Helmsley did have several successes following the MSG Incident. Mr. Perfect became his manager and he won the WWF Intercontinental Championship for the first time on October 21, 1996, defeating Marc Mero. When Mr. Perfect left the WWF, his departure was explained to be a result of Helmsley turning his back on his manager as soon as he won the Intercontinental Championship. Levesque held the belt for nearly four months before dropping it to Rocky Maivia on the February 13, 1997 special edition of Monday Night RAW, called Thursday Raw Thursday. For a very brief time, Helmsley was accompanied by Mr. Hughes, who was his storyline bodyguard. After losing the Intercontinental title, he feuded with Goldust, defeating him at WrestleMania 13. During their feud, Chyna debuted as his new bodyguard.

Helmsley's push resumed in 1997, when he won the 1997 King of the Ring tournament by defeating Mankind in the finals. Later that year, Shawn Michaels, Helmsley, Chyna and Rick Rude formed D-Generation X (DX). This stable later became known for pushing the envelope, as Michaels and Helmsley made risqué promos—spawning the catchphrase "Suck It", using a "crotch chop" hand motion, and sarcastically deriding Bret Hart and Canada. By that point, Helmsley had fully dropped the "blueblood snob" gimmick, appearing in T-shirts and leather. During this period, his ring name was shortened to simply Triple H. Even after the DX versus Hart Foundation storyline ended, Helmsley continued to feud with the sole remaining member Owen Hart over the WWF European Championship. This ended in a match between the two at WrestleMania XIV, with the stipulation that Chyna had to be handcuffed to then-Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter. Helmsley won after Chyna threw powder into Slaughter's eyes, momentarily "blinding" him and allowing her to interfere in the match.

After WrestleMania, Michaels was forced into temporary retirement due to a legitimate back injury sustained at the Royal Rumble, with Triple H taking over the leadership position in DX, claiming that his now-former associate had "dropped the ball". He introduced the returning X-Pac the night after WrestleMania and joined forces with the New Age Outlaws. As 1998 went along, D-Generation X became more popular, turning the group from villains to fan favorites. It was also during this time that Triple H began a feud with the leader of the Nation of Domination and rising WWF villain, The Rock. This storyline rivalry eventually led to a feud over the Intercontinental Championship, which Triple H won in a ladder match at SummerSlam. He did not hold the title long, however, as he was sidelined with a legitimate knee injury. When The Rock won the WWF Championship at Survivor Series, the rivalry between the two continued, as DX fought The Corporation stable, of which The Rock was the main star. Triple H received a shot at the WWF Championship on the January 25, 1999 edition of RAW in an "I Quit" match against The Rock, but the match ended when Triple H was forced to quit or see his aide Chyna chokeslammed by Kane. This began a new angle for Triple H, as Chyna betrayed him by attacking him after the match and joining The Corporation.

As part of the storyline, at WrestleMania XV, Triple H beat Kane with the aid of Chyna, who was thought to have rejoined DX. Later on in the night, he betrayed his long-time friend and fellow DX member X-Pac by helping Shane McMahon retain the European Championship and joined The Corporation. After Triple H's villain turn in early 1999, he moved away from his DX look, taping his fists for matches, sporting new and shorter wrestling trunks, and adopting a shorter hairstyle. Levesque's gimmick changed as he fought to earn a WWF title shot. After numerous failed attempts at winning the championship, Triple H and Mankind challenged WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin to a Triple Threat match at SummerSlam, which featured Jesse "The Body" Ventura as the special guest referee. Mankind won the match by pinning Austin The following night on RAW, Triple H defeated Mankind to win his first WWF Championship.

Triple H dropped the WWF Championship to Vince McMahon on the September 16, 1999 edition of SmackDown! before regaining it at Unforgiven in a Six-Pack Challenge that included Davey Boy Smith, Big Show, Kane, The Rock, and Mankind. He defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin at No Mercy before dropping the title to Big Show at Survivor Series. Triple H then continued his feud with Vince McMahon by marrying his daughter, Stephanie McMahon. He then defeated McMahon at Armageddon. As a result of the feud, an angle with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon began which carried the WWF throughout the next seventeen months; together they were known as the "McMahon-Helmsley Faction".

By January 2000, Triple H dubbed himself "The Game," implying that he was at the top of the wrestling world, and was nicknamed "The Cerebral Assassin" by Jim Ross. On the January 3 edition of Raw is War, Triple H defeated The Big Show to win his third WWF championship.

A later storyline feud between Triple H and Steve Austin started when it emerged that Triple H had paid off Rikishi to run down Austin at Survivor Series, causing him to take a year off. In reality, Austin's previous neck injuries started bothering him again, forcing him to have surgery. In 2000, Triple H and Austin had a match at Survivor Series that ended when Triple H tried to trick Austin into coming into the parking lot to run him over again, only to have Austin lift his car up with a forklift and flip the car onto its roof 10 feet high. Triple H returned a few weeks later and attacked Austin. The feud continued into 2001 and ended in a Three Stages of Hell match in which Helmsley defeated Austin. In 2001, Triple H also feuded with The Undertaker, who defeated him at WrestleMania X-Seven. The night after WrestleMania, Triple H interfered in a steel cage match between Austin (who had just won the WWF Championship) and The Rock where he joined forces with Austin and double teamed on The Rock, forming a tag team called The Two-Man Power Trip. Triple H then defeated Chris Jericho for his third Intercontinental Championship on the April 5 edition of SmackDown!, and won it for a fourth time two weeks later by defeating Jeff Hardy. Triple H then became a tag team champion for the first time at Backlash when he and Austin defeated Kane and The Undertaker in a winner-take-all tag match.

During the May 21, 2001 episode of RAW, he suffered a legitimate and career-threatening injury. In the night's main event, he and Austin were defending the Tag Team Championship against Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit. At one point, Jericho had Austin trapped in the Walls of Jericho. Triple H ran in to break it up, but just as he did, he suffered a tear in his left quadriceps muscle, causing it to come completely off the bone. Despite his inability to place any weight on his leg, Triple H was able to complete the match. He even allowed Jericho to put him in the Walls of Jericho, a move that places considerable stress on the quadriceps. The tear required an operation, which was performed by orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews. This injury brought an abrupt end to the McMahon-Helmsley Era, as the rigorous rehabilitation process kept Triple H out of action for over eight months, completely missing The Invasion storyline.

Triple H returned to RAW as a fan favorite on January 7, 2002 at Madison Square Garden. He won the Royal Rumble and received a WWF Undisputed Championship match at WrestleMania X8. At WrestleMania X8, Triple H beat Chris Jericho for the Undisputed Championship. After holding the title for a month, Helmsley dropped it to Hulk Hogan at Backlash. Triple H then became exclusive to the SmackDown! roster due to the WWF Draft Lottery and continued to feud with Jericho, culminating in a Hell in a Cell match at Judgment Day. On June 6, Triple H defeated Hogan in a Number One Contenders match for the Undisputed Championship at the King of the Ring against The Undertaker but was unsuccessful at the event.

In the interim, between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, the McMahon-Helmsley Faction was brought to an official on-screen conclusion. By the time he returned, Triple H's on-screen marriage to Stephanie McMahon was on the rocks, so Stephanie faked a pregnancy in order to get him back on her side. When he learned that it was fake, he dumped her publicly on RAW when they were supposed to renew their wedding vows. Stephanie aligned with Jericho afterward, but she was forced to leave after losing a Triple Threat match on RAW the night after WrestleMania when she was pinned by Triple H. The divorce, and thus the storyline, was finalized at Vengeance.

Meanwhile, Shawn Michaels had made his return to WWE and joined the New World Order (nWo). Michaels and Kevin Nash planned to bring Triple H over to RAW in order to put him into the group. Vince McMahon, however, disbanded the nWo following several backstage complications and brought in Eric Bischoff as the RAW brand's new General manager. One of Bischoff's first intentions was to follow up on the nWo's plan and bring Triple H over to the RAW roster. Triple H did indeed go to the RAW brand, reuniting with Shawn Michaels, but on July 22, he turned on Michaels by performing a Pedigree on him during what was supposed to be a DX reunion, becoming a villain again. The following week, Triple H smashed Michaels' face into a car window to prove that Michaels was "weak". These events led to the beginning of a long storyline rivalry between the former partners and an eventual "Unsanctioned Street Fight" at SummerSlam, in which Michaels came out of retirement to win. Afterwards, however, Triple H attacked him with a sledgehammer, and Michaels was carried out of the ring.

Before September 2, 2002, WWE recognized only one champion for both the RAW and SmackDown! brands. After SummerSlam, champion Brock Lesnar became exclusive to SmackDown!, leaving Raw without a champion. RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff then awarded the World Heavyweight Championship to Triple H in the form of the old WCW Championship belt. Triple H retained his title against Rob Van Dam at Unforgiven when Ric Flair hit RVD with a sledgehammer, and against Kane at No Mercy in a title unification match in which Triple H won the Intercontinental Championship and unified it with his World Heavyweight Championship, but he eventually dropped the belt to Shawn Michaels in the first ever Elimination Chamber match at Survivor Series. He defeated RVD for the title shot at Armageddon with Michaels as special referee. He regained the title from Michaels in a Three Stages of Hell match at Armageddon.

In January 2003, Triple H formed a stable known as Evolution with Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and Batista. Triple H and Ric Flair challenged RVD and Kane for the World Tag Team Titles, but they lost the match. The group was pushed on RAW from 2003 to 2004. The height of their dominance occurred after Armageddon when every member of Evolution left the pay-per-view holding a title. Triple H held the World Heavyweight Championship for most of 2003 until Unforgiven, losing the title to Bill Goldberg. After a failed attempt to win back the title from Goldberg in a rematch at the Survivor Series, he finally regained the championship against Goldberg in a triple threat match at Armageddon which also involved Kane. At the 2004 Royal Rumble, Triple H and Shawn Michaels fought in a Last Man Standing match to a double countout, so Triple H retained the title as a result. Triple H dropped the title to Chris Benoit at WrestleMania XX, and he was unable to reclaim the belt from Benoit in subsequent rematches, including a rematch from WrestleMania between Triple H, Benoit, and Shawn Michaels at Backlash.

He then ended his feud with Michaels, defeating him in a Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood. After another failed attempt, losing to Benoit at Vengeance, he focused on Eugene, beating him at SummerSlam. Triple H then regained the title from former associate Randy Orton at Unforgiven. Following a Triple Threat World Heavyweight title defense against Benoit and Edge on the November 29, 2004 episode of RAW, the World Heavyweight Championship became vacant for the first time. At New Year's Revolution, Triple H won the Elimination Chamber to begin his tenth world title reign. At WrestleMania 21, Triple H lost the championship to Batista, and subsequently lost two rematches at Backlash and Vengeance. Following this, Triple H took some time off from wrestling, suffering from minor neck problems.

Triple H returned to RAW on October 3, 2005 as part of WWE Homecoming. He teamed with Flair to defeat Chris Masters and Carlito. After the match, Triple H turned on Flair, hitting him with a sledgehammer and sparking a feud between the duo. Flair defeated Triple H in a Steel cage match at Taboo Tuesday for Flair's Intercontinental Championship. Subsequently, Triple H defeated Flair in a non-title Last Man Standing match at Survivor Series to end their feud.

Although Triple H failed to win the Royal Rumble match at Royal Rumble, another championship opportunity arose for Triple H in the Road to WrestleMania Tournament. He won the tournament, granting him a match for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 22. At WrestleMania, Triple H and John Cena fought in the main event for the title, which Triple H lost via submission. It was on that night that Vince McMahon marked the official beginning of the For Extreme Era, prompting Triple H to try and mend old wounds.

The next night on RAW, Triple H reunited with Shawn Michaels, reforming D-Generation X and turning Triple H back into a fan favorite. The duo won the World Tag Titles that same night. Later that month at Backlash, Triple H pinned The Undertaker, symbolically moving on from his past to start his own "For Extreme Era." Triple H would pick up fan favorite Jeff Hardy and newcomer Ashley Massaro to flesh out the new DX. It was around this time than Triple H began to but heads with his former protege Randy Orton over who should challenge for the WWE Championship. Triple H made Orton defeat all of the other members of DX before allowing him to face Triple H for the number one contendership, which was contested inside a steel cage on the May 29 episode of RAW. With this win under his belt, Triple H went on to win his sixth WWE Championship, overcoming both Edge and champion Raven.

Triple H performing his signature ring entrance pose on the middle rope following his 2007 comeback

As the 2006 edition of SummerSlam drew closer, promotional videos for the return of Triple H began airing, teasing which brand he would choose to join. At the same time, a mysterious "Mr. Scott-Harper" began negotiating a contract for his client, Lance Cade, eventually accepting the offer of ECW. However, at SummerSlam, Mr. Scott Harper was revealed to be Shawn Michaels in disguise, and the contract had actually been for the returning Triple H. After squashing Tyson Tomko and Refugee Tim. A few weeks later, he made his live television return on SmackDown!, defeating Genesis in a rare televised Hell in a Cell match. He would go on to reunited with Jeff Hardy, teaming with the then-WWE Champion like he had on RAW. However, Triple H began to show his darker side once more, brutally beating Luigi and decorating himself in his blood.

Around this time, Ric Flair made his return be defeating Jeff Hardy to win his 17th world championship. Flair lost the title to Monty Brown at No Mercy, but after he did a video aired of Triple H winning the championship in an unsanctioned match earlier that evening.The title was held up, while Flair aligned himself with Triple H, effectively disbanding DX and reforming Evolution.

On the November 3 edition of SmackDown!, Triple H defeated Monty Brown to become a seven time WWE Champion, tying the record set by The Rock. Triple H began to question the competence of management, in particular SmackDown! General Manager Devin Jacobs. In response, Jacobs booked a WWE Championship match, with Jeff Hardy as the contender. However, Ric Flair was made to defend the championship in Triple H's place. Hardy won, putting an end to Evolution. Triple H would lead Team WWE in the 2006 Survivor Series match, leading his team to victory.

His commercial appearances include ads in May 2006 for Miller Lite in which he debates "Man Laws" with the likes of Burt Reynolds, Eddie Griffin and Jerome Bettis. That same month, he also appeared in a commercial for USA Network with Anthony Michael Hall, which cross-promoted RAW and Hall's show, The Dead Zone. Hall's character, a psychic, touches Triple H while he lounges beside a pool and has a vision of him falling asleep in the sun, and fellow wrestler John Cena slapping Triple H's sunburned back and leaving a handprint. He has also appeared in commercials for bodybuilding supplements such as Stacker 2 and YJ Stinger. Levesque also appeared in a Wendy's commercial holding up a Triple Classic Burger calling it the "Triple H Burger".

Levesque appeared in the movie, Blade: Trinity, as a vampire enforcer named Jarko Grimwood.

Levesque has also appeared in several WWE Home Video releases, including Triple H: The Game and Triple H: That Damn Good in 2002, D-Generation-X, a reissue of the VHS version, in 2006, and The New and Improved DX in 2007. Triple H: King of Kings, a DVD covering his career so far, was released on March 25, 2008.

Levesque appeared in an episode of the USA Network series Pacific Blue on August 9, 1998. In December 1998, he did a guest appearance in The Drew Carey Show as the Disciplinarian. He was also featured in the August 14, 2005 episode of MTV's Punk'd in which he was led to believe that he had ruined a wedding by hitting the bride in the face with a door and damaging her nose until Ashton Kutcher and Stacy Keibler showed up. Additionally, his television appearances include guest spots as Triple H on MADtv and Saturday Night Live, and as a character on an episode of The Bernie Mac Show. Levesque also won the WWE edition of The Weakest Link, in which he and Stephanie McMahon were the final two contestants. Levesque has also been a guest announcer for the Mr. Olympia competition. On September 19, 2009 he accompanied Floyd "Money" Mayweather to the ring as he faced off against Juan Manuel Márquez.

Before marrying Stephanie McMahon, Levesque was in a relationship with Joanie Laurer (who appeared as Chyna). They dated from 1996 until 2000.

Levesque married Stephanie McMahon on October 25, 2003. On January 8, 2006, WWE announced that McMahon and Levesque were expecting their first child, due on July 27, 2006. Stephanie McMahon continued to work and travel with WWE throughout her pregnancy, giving birth to an 8 lb, 7 oz (3.8 kg) baby girl, Aurora Rose Levesque, on July 24, 2006. The couple had their second child on July 28, 2008, a daughter named Murphy Claire Levesque.

In late 2004, Levesque released a book entitled Making the Game: Triple H's Approach to a Better Body. Mostly devoted to bodybuilding advice, the book also includes some autobiographical information, memoirs, and opinions.

In 2008 Levesque's role as an executive senior adviser was officially formalized as he was given an office at WWE's headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.